NEW YORK: Stryker-Munley Group has expanded its network nationally, adding seven offices across the U.S.

Its newly added offices are independently owned small agencies that will operate as part of Stryker-Munley Group.

Mike Jamieson, founder and president of the agency's New York office, said the recently added locations have expanded the size of the agency’s staff by about 40 employees.

"Clients now have the ability to access very specific experience across the group," Jamieson said. "We’re operating as before, but with the added benefit of having more experts. You can have all the assets of a national agency and pay the local prices."

Including the original office in New York, the eight locations work together under a licensing agreement, Jamieson added, but continue to operate independently.

The firms now under the Stryker-Munley umbrella are Modamedia Communications in Sacramento, California; Krakoff Communications in Pittsburgh; BrandStand in Los Angeles; Ascent Communications in Somerville, New Jersey; Stramel PR & Social Media in Memphis; AHC Consulting in St. Louis; and Newsmakers in Chicago.

Jamieson added that the agency was "scouring the U.S." for people and firms with specific and in-depth experience to expand its offering.

"Agencies try to work with clients they aren’t well-equipped to handle," he said. "Each agency has certain experience – we’re not all generalists. The agency as a whole now has new expertise, like fashion out of the Memphis office or education out of Chicago."

Stryker-Munley Group is a PR and marketing communications agency founded in 1999. The agency's clients include TempurPedic, Starbucks, Centura Health, and Sprint.